One
of the problems which Microsoft has in
trying to maintain a grasp of the PC market is that it is up
against rivals (business competitors) such as Linux, which
make better products, cheaper. The Linux operating system is more
powerful, more secure, more efficient, and generally better than
Microsoft Windows (any version), so what can Microsoft do about
it? Well, the current "plan" seems to be to enforce
rules which could in effect banish the competition! No more Linux!

The
idea is for Microsoft to be able to distort the design of the PC
such that customers will have no choice, as Microsoft will be the
only operating system that will run, would surely easily
eliminate Microsoft's problem of business competition. Quite
simply, the superior but cheaper rivals would not be allowed to
have their software run on the PC, as the PC would become a
"Microsoft-only PC".

Microsoft
have tried this before, when they tried to apply an abusive
monopoly of the Internet Browser market,
but the European
Fair Competition Commission outlawed this
monopolistic move, and so Microsoft is now compelled to compete,
on fair terms, with the other browser manufacturers, letting
customers choose for themselves!

However,
with the proposals as observed at 2nd October 2011, PC hardware (motherboards)
would be monopolised such that they would only be able to run
Microsoft Windows. Plus, they would (in effect) self-destruct
after a period, thus forcing the customer into paying for a new
computer AND a new version of the further crippled Microsoft
operating system. There would be a considerable environmental impact,
but do they care about that?

How
did this happen?

Well,
it started with UEFI, which is the Unified
Extensible Firmware Interface. This started out
being a good idea, and it replaced the BIOS. Then, UEFI had a
feature included known as the Secure
Boot. This, of itself,
is not evil. However, what Microsoft did with it (to it) was to
insist that "for the purposes of Windows 8 Certification",
the UEFI must have Microsoft protectionist keys. Linux can't have
these, and so, in a matter-of-fact way, Microsoft has banished
Linux from running on the PC.

Of
course the motherboard hardware manufacturers should include a
switch to allow this awkward feature to be turned off. It's in
their good business interests to allow more competition between
operating-system makers.

But
what if they don't?

Well,
some will and some won't. The ones that don't include a switch
will in effect have a product which is disposable, like those
cheap throw-away cameras were. Their rivals that include a switch
will have a re-taskable reusable recyclable product, whereas the
disposable boards will in landfill. Customers seeing this will
hopefully have the good sense to make a better choice next time.

The
problem is, having seen the conspiracy
to support Microsoft, and the
cluelessness by which many customers become victim to bad
practises in a bad market, it is plausible that Microsoft might
be able to pull off this stunt and get away with monopolising the
PC market, without merit.

Here
are a few other pages expressing the problem of the UEFI Secure
Boot....

*
It will still be possible to get PC motherboards which are
without the restrictions. If you're buying a computer, for
example from these places that sell
computers, insist that the
motherboard can have UEFI Secure Boot switched off! If they say
no, don't buy it!

*
It may be possible to hack into the boards and replace the
existing UEFI with something that actually allows you to run
software of your choice on your machine. Hacking into hardware is
often possible. Look at what happened about the Sky Digibox (previously
thought to be worthless). Even the CueCat, (total
protectionist hardware) was neutered!

*
The non-reusability of "bricked" PC boards may yet come
back to haunt the manufacturers. This is an environmental issue.
Plus, in some legislative regimes, buyers have a right to have
goods properly described. If you ask "Can this computer run
Linux?" and the salesperson says "Yes", and the
computer fails, you have a right to your money back! So, whether
you would like to run Linux or not, it's best to ask "Can
this computer run Linux?" and then you are making sure the
machine is not going to end up prematurely in landfill because it
has a Microsoft UEFI Secure Boot catastrophic failure.

Further
note: Do not believe any nonsense that the UEFI Secure Boot has
anything to do with security! Microsoft is full of holes. See viruses. UEFI or
no, it will still be full of holes. The best thing Microsoft
could do for security is to give up. Linux, in contrast, is much
more secure.

Update:
If a Windows PC fails, it could end up dead, or "bricked".
It would be easy for virus-writers to create virus programs that
cause a Microsoft Windows PC to hang-up. Normally, it would be
recovered by resetting the computer and mending
things. However, if the equivalent of the BIOS can't be reset,
then that computer is dead. Customers won't be happy about that.
Also, it's an astonishing fact that most Windows rescue discs are
based on Linux, so if
they don't work anymore because of Microsoft's stupid "security",
then the computer could be unrecoverable.